[extropy-chat] End of sports as we know them?

[Robert J. Bradbury]

Interesting, it would appear that there has been some interesting
progress on the genetics of muscle development.

See:
A Very Muscular Baby Offers Hope Against Diseases
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/science/24muscle.html?pagewanted=print

In short apparently if you inactivate one or both of your copies
of the myostatin gene you end up with increased (stronger) muscles.

As some of you may be aware there is a currently a big hoopla about
athletes who may have taken some designer drugs to enhance their
performance.  But what about athletes who have a genetic mutation
which gives them a demonstrative natural advantage?  Will it be
interesting to watch a football game knowing that the team members
playing all lack myostatin gene activity?  And then of course
there is the "drug" testing question.  I can imagine treatments
that one could use to suppress myostatin activity that would be
*very* difficult to test for.  Can there be a concept of a
level playing field in sports in the future?

Robert